The Hellmouth Protocol
by M. Scott Eiland
Summary: Captain Kirk is shocked when Spock abruptly takes command under a secret Starfleet protocol and orders the destruction of a Federation starbase. Spock's explanation shocks him even more. . . Follow-up to, "Beaming Down. . .to a Hellmouth?"
1. Part I

Summary: Captain Kirk is shocked when Spock abruptly takes command under a secret Starfleet protocol and orders the destruction of a Federation starbase. Spock's explanation shocks him even more. . . Follow-up to, "Beaming Down. . .to a Hellmouth?"  
  
Disclaimer: All of these characters remain the property of their owners/creators. . .I'm just borrowing them for a spell. . .  
  
Rating: PG-13, for violence and themes.  
  
Time Frame: Third season of ST: TOS, not long after "The Enterprise Incident." Fourth season BTVS, a few days after the events of "Beer Bad."   
  
Archiving: Be my guest, but e-mail me (eilandesq@aol.com) to let me know. . .I like to know where stuff I write ends up and I might want to see what else you've got.  
  
  
THE HELLMOUTH PROTOCOL  
  
  
Captain's Personal Log, Stardate 5139.8:  
  
  
Starfleet has taken delivery of one Romulan cloaking device, slightly used. My crew and I have been thanked profusely by Fleet Intelligence, and have promised to take under advisement my complaints about the extreme risk faced by all of us in this mission, along with my misgivings about the ethical shortcomings that it entailed. I'm not holding my breath at getting much sympathy from Fleet Intelligence or elsewhere, but I needed to vent.  
  
We are en route to Starbase 48, where we will pass on much needed supplies to the isolated outpost. I have always wondered why Starfleet felt the need to place a base so far from inhabited areas of Federation space, but the computer records are silent on the matter, and I am resigned to it being another case of "Fleet Command knows best." In any event, I am looking forward to seeing an old friend, Commander David Connors, who recently assumed command of Starbase 48.  
  
  
Jim Kirk hit the button that ended the entry, and stretched to loosen some of the residual muscular soreness that had plagued him since his escape from the Romulan flagship: Romulans were not a joke to deal with, even for someone who had spent a great deal of time in the ship's gym sparring with a Vulcan over the last three years. He shrugged * part of the job. . .but I'll be glad if I never have to go nine rounds with a Romulan Centurion again * . He walked over to his dresser, pulled on a gold uniform top, and left his quarters.  
  
Moments later, he arrived at the bridge, and Spock vacated the center chair without even looking at him. Smiling at Spock's uncanny ability to sense his presence, he sat in the command chair and called out to his helmsman, "What's our status, Mr. Sulu?"  
  
Sulu turned to Kirk and replied, "We're fifteen minutes out from Starbase 48, Captain. We'll drop to impulse in 9.5 minutes. All systems performing at 100% of specs or better."  
  
Kirk nodded, then turned to look at Spock. The recent mission with the Romulans had perhaps been most difficult on the Vulcan: as difficult as the Romulans could be, they retained elements of nobility that even Kirk could not help be impressed by. Spock had the additional pull of historical and ethnic ties with them. . .and then there had been the Romulan Commander. Kirk had been impressed by the woman; clearly, she had more than earned her command of the three ship fleet that had surrounded the Enterprise. She had remained on board for two weeks while arrangements were made to ferry her back to the Neutral Zone, and had adamantly refused to speak to Spock during that time. She had, however, consented to let Kirk try to talk her into staying in Federation space: he knew full well that she would be returning to disgrace, and either exile or death. She had listened to his arguments, nodded politely, and replied, "Captain Kirk, you are-in your own way-an honorable man, and I respect that. . .but my own honor demands that I go back to my people and accept their judgment concerning what has happened. . .for better or for worse." She saw his face fall, then looked at him with understanding and commented, "Captain. . .you risked discovery, torture and death at the hands of your enemies for the sake of your mission. Please understand that my own sense of duty requires that I face my people. . .if I can do that, then I can accept my fate knowing that I have done my duty to them." Kirk had nodded, then left in silence, and his last memory of her was of the proud way that she held herself as the two Centurions led her away to the Romulan shuttle.  
  
Kirk sighed at the waste of it all as the Enterprise dropped out of warp and began to coast at impulse towards the Starbase. For several minutes, the bridge crew watched in silence as Starbase 48 appeared in the viewscreen and rapidly grew into a large, spherical shape with several outstretched projections from its equator. Sulu expertly guided the Enterprise into a position of relative rest to the station, and Kirk nodded with approval and turned to the lovely communications officer, ordering, "Open hailing frequencies, Lieutenant Uhura."   
  
Uhura replied, "Frequency open, Captain." Kirk nodded at her and called out, "This is Captain Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise calling Starbase 48. We have arrived as per our scheduled flight plan and request permission to come aboard."  
  
There was a moment's silence, then Uhura's board chimed, and she called out, "The Starbase is hailing us, Captain. . .it's Commander Connors."  
  
Kirk grinned and replied, "On screen, Lieutenant." Uhura complied, and the face of a dark-haired man in his mid-thirties appeared on the viewscreen. His grin mirrored Kirk's as he commented, "I see the reputation that the Enterprise has for punctuality is not unearned. . .how in the hell are you, Jim?"  
  
As Kirk spoke with Connors, Spock was very carefully pressing a sequence of switches that only he, and a dozen or so officers scattered throughout the Federation, knew. On a ship that lacked one of those officers, this process would have been automatic, but Starfleet Command had decided that, if possible, a living being should have the final say in how the protocol foremost in Spock's thoughts should be enforced. Spock took irrational comfort in the human emotion of blind optimism. . .it had been fifteen years, and nothing had occurred to trigger the Protocol in this sector. Surely, this time would be no different. . .  
  
A certain light began silently flashing in stark crimson. If Spock had been fully human, he would have turned pale; instead, his fingers rapidly played over the controls of the science station, triggering a certain kind of active scan for which the results would instantly be relayed to the main computer. . .  
  
On the screen, Commander Connors paled momentarily, causing Kirk to look at his old friend with concern and ask, "You all right, David? I know things are slow out here, but I hope it isn't just that we've shown up. . .those poker debts you ran up are negotiable, after all. . ."  
  
A white light began flashing on Sulu's board, causing him to pale even more than Connors had. He whirled and exclaimed, "Captain Kirk! The ship's weapons systems are locking onto the Starbase, all by themselves. . .and the firing countdown has begun. . .everything will open up on them in . . .thirty seconds!"  
  
Connors heard Sulu's worried announcement, and he called out, "Jim! What's-"  
  
Kirk ignored the question and called out, "Computer! Shut down all weapons systems. . .override code Kirk gamma gamma epsilon delta!"  
  
Spock almost smiled at the irony of the computer voice, which was an exact copy of the voice of the Enterprise's prior first officer, giving Kirk the grim news: "Code invalid. The Enterprise is currently operating under Starfleet Emergency Protocol H-125. . .all command codes have temporarily been transferred to Commander Spock."  
  
As one, every head on the bridge turned to Spock, and Kirk gave his best friend the courtesy of a full second's pause before snapping, "What's going on, Spock? Stop the attack. . .there are over a hundred people on that base!"  
  
Spock allowed the sadness he was feeling to touch his eyes for a moment, then replied, "I'm sorry Captain, I can't do that." His turned to the screen, where Connors was scrambling to activate the station's limited defenses, and spoke pointedly: "I know what you are."  
  
Connors whirled and stared at the Vulcan, and as the full power phaser and photon torpedo barrage from the Enterprise began, in spite of the valiant efforts of Kirk and Sulu to prevent it, Connors' face changed. . .becoming demonic and transfixing the entire bridge crew until the screen went white and changed to a view of Starbase 48 exploding into white light. The energy wave battered the shields, shaking the ship, then the shaking ceased and there was only a mist of rubble visible: no other sign that a Federation Starbase had been there less than a minute before remained.  
  
Kirk was in complete shock, and had to force himself to look back at Spock, then spent another long moment attempting to stay calm as he spoke to him. After a few more seconds, he managed, "Spock. . .?"  
  
Spock held up his hand to indicate that Kirk should be silent for a moment, then called out, "Computer: transfer command codes back to Captain Kirk. . .authorization Spock omega epsilon gamma Hellmouth." He then hit his intercom button and requested that four security men be sent to the Bridge, after which he opened another channel and intoned, "Mr. Scott, your presence will be required in the main briefing room in five minutes."  
  
"BRIEFING ROOM! We just got hit with an antimatter flux, Spock! I canna leave Engineering at a time like this!" The chief engineer's voice was angry and deeply accented, reflecting the stress that he was under.  
  
Spock calmly replied, "Mr. Scott. . .the level of the antimatter flux was well within the tolerance limits of the shields, and no further ones are likely in the near future. Your staff has been adequately trained by you and your presence is required. Spock out." Spock pressed the button again, cutting off the outraged engineer, and turned to his astounded captain, raising an eyebrow before asking, "Was there something that you wished to ask me, Captain?"  
  
Kirk's emotions were in turmoil: grief over the loss of a friend, shock at the course of events in the last ten minutes. . .and curiosity: what was this damned protocol that had turned the universe upside down? He looked at Spock and asked, "Why did you call the guards. . .and why does Commander Scott need to be at the meeting?"  
  
Spock looked at his captain, inwardly pleased that he had kept his composure in a difficult situation, and replied, "Mr. Scott has knowledge relevant to this situation. I ask that you order Lieutenants Uhura and Sulu, and Ensign Chekov to attend the meeting along with us, with the rest of the bridge crew to remain here until they can be briefed. . .the guards are a precautionary measure."  
  
Kirk's eyes widened and he retorted, 'Spock. . .these are Starfleet officers. . .surely we can trust them not to gossip if they are so ordered."  
  
Spock's face clouded briefly, then he replied, "I dislike such measures, but the protocol in question is quite strict on the matter of security. . .also, Captain, Dr. McCoy should be present at the meeting. . .there are medical aspects to this situation."  
  
Kirk nodded without understanding and motioned to Uhura, who looked a little worse for wear herself as she activated her board and intoned, "Dr. McCoy, report to the main briefing room immediately."  
  
McCoy's terse voice came back almost immediately: "Acknowledged." Kirk winced: McCoy would have heard what happened, at least in outline, and he knew that Spock was in for some verbal abuse. The security guards arrived, and Kirk gave them their marching orders as he motioned to Uhura, Sulu and Chekov to follow Spock and himself into the turbolift. As the doors closed, he had but one thought:  
  
This had better be good, Spock.  
  
  
  
* * * * *  
  
  
The group had convened in the main briefing room, and Spock had ordered the security men outside with orders to stop anyone from entering unless it was a matter that imminently threatened the safety of the ship. All eyes were on him as he began, "This matter is considered by Starfleet Command to be one of the most dangerous secrets known to exist. . .aside from the individuals directly involved in the incident, only the members of the Admiral's Council know of this protocol. If I or one of the other individuals in question had not been here, the Enterprise would have conducted the entire operation via computer control and Starfleet would not have explained until the ship had come in for debriefing. . .am I understood?"  
  
Kirk nodded and replied, "Go ahead, Spock."  
  
Spock slipped a tape into the computer's slot, and the triple viewscreen lit up with the Starfleet symbol for a moment before a familiar face appeared on the screen. Kirk stared at the man for a second or two before whispering, "Chris Pike."  
  
The fortyish man on the screen stared out at his unseen viewers for a moment before beginning, "I am Captain Christopher Pike, in command of the starship Enterprise at the time I am making this recording. If you are watching this, an incident that invoked the Hellmouth Protocol has occurred, and most of you are wondering what the hell is going on. Believe me. . .I am sympathetic. . .when the Enterprise encountered the phenomenon that I am about to describe, I had exactly the same reaction. My crew suffered painful losses due to our encounter. . .I hope that you fare better." He smiled faintly, then began, "On Stardate-"  
  
The recitation of the incident that Spock still remembered vividly after fifteen years took only 21 minutes and 4.56 seconds, including the time needed to show the visual logs taken by Doctor Boyce during the final confrontation with Brennan, Davidson and their allies. No one in the room said a word while the presentation went on, and after it was over Pike looked out at them again and concluded, "Since a member of the original landing party is present among you, I will leave it to him or her to conclude this briefing." He smiled again, adding, "Good luck to you all." The screen went dark, and all eyes turned to Spock. The silence dragged on for several more seconds before Montgomery Scott could restrain himself no more: "That was what was going on down there? I knew that something strange was going on. . .and that Brennan and Davidson were logged as having died in the line of duty. . .but this? Vampires. . . teenaged children as the only thing standing between a world and destruction? It's madness, Spock!"  
  
Spock raised an eyebrow and replied, "If you are commenting on the desirability of such a state of affairs, Mr. Scott, I would have to concur; however, the experiences of the landing party and the sensor logs they brought back with them are conclusive. . .and would be even if a Vulcan-certainly not prone to flights of fancy-had not been among them." The chief engineer frowned and nodded, and Spock continued, "In any event, Starfleet Command took the matter under advisement upon receiving Captain Pike's detailed report on the incident, and chose to place Starbase 48 in this sector to monitor any potential intrusions into our universe from the phenomenon that drew the Enterprise into the 'Hellmouth dimension.' However, to prevent breaches of security, the station personnel were not briefed on the nature of their assignment; instead, the station computer was to perform automatic sensor sweeps of the area around the phenomenon to spot such intrusions. . .and to deal with them with lethal force, if deemed necessary. Unfortunately, this plan seems to have proved inadequate."  
  
McCoy's face was red with anger, and he snapped, "You mean Command left over a hundred men and women at the mercy of a damned computer to protect them from something they had no clue existed? Of all the callous--!"  
  
"Not now, Bones!" The snap of command was back in Kirk's voice, and the doctor halted in mid-diatribe, mumbling to himself as the captain turned to Spock and asked, "Spock. . .I gather you ran some sort of sensor scan as we came in. . .what did you find?"  
  
The Vulcan nodded and replied, "The initial scan was a low-level one, designed specifically to count the number of humanoids on the station and look for the anomalous readings that were found to be characteristic of vampires during the landing party's observations. My first scan detected no humanoid life signs aboard the station, and only a few traces of the vampire readings. The next step, since there are a few other life forms that exhibit very similar readings, was to direct an intense polaron burst at the station: my studies indicated that such a scan should clearly identify vampires as such, and should cause a momentary physical reaction that would not be manifested by other life forms." The others who had been on the bridge remembered Connors' reaction to the scan, and Kirk nodded for Spock to continue. Spock nodded and concluded, "In a way, we were fortunate. . .there were no living humanoids on the station. The Protocol contemplates the destruction of an infested ship or station even if the result is casualties from friendly fire. . .we were not forced to make that decision."  
  
Kirk nodded, looking grim, then asked, "Spock, how in the hell did these creatures get to Starbase 48? From your reports, the civilization on that version of Earth hadn't even fully mastered interplanetary travel. . .it would have taken decades for them to develop that capability and send a ship out to the anomaly, and even assuming that the ship could have survived the conditions of the crossover, it would have had to cover a tenth of a light year to reach Starbase 48. . .there's just no way."  
  
Spock raised an eyebrow, then replied, "Starfleet Command considered two possible scenarios. The first, which was largely speculative, was that the vampires and other creatures associated with the Hellmouth could harness the power source known colloquially as 'magic' to send a ship through, since at least one vampire who knew of the existence of our dimension escaped from the incident with our landing party, and one of the creatures might have seen possibilities." He paused, then continued, "The other possibility is that they received assistance from someone from our dimension: any warp-capable craft could have carried one or more vampires to Starbase 48 if they could somehow avoid the scans. Once aboard, the vampires could have relatively quickly taken over the station, given that no one on board could know of what they were facing." His fingers played across the buttons next to his seat, and a list of ship arrivals appeared on the screens as he explained, "Before the weapons barrage began, I sent a coded override signal to the starbase's computer, instructing it to transmit its arrival logs along with any other activities in the last six months. . .here. The Stormwatch docked at Starbase 48 fifteen standard days ago, and departed precisely eleven days and ten hours later. . .it is the only vessel whose flight plan is not redundantly confirmed that has docked there in the past six months. . .it is almost certainly the source of the infestation."  
  
Kirk nodded and noted tersely, "We'll have to go in after it, Spock. . .the Prime Directive applies, even though the Hellmouth world is an alternate version of Earth. Even if our weapons don't work properly there, a warp-capable craft could vastly change the balance of power there." He looked at Spock and frowned, "The Stormwatch is only a Class 2 scoutship. . .the Enterprise can handle it with no problems; however, Spock, these creatures have had a good look at Federation technology, including some that actually works there. . .how do we deal with that little problem?"  
  
Spock raised an eyebrow and pressed a few more buttons. The picture of a beautiful teenaged girl appeared on the screens: all present could see the intensity in the green eyes and the determined look on her face, frozen in time. "We have an ally in this place, someone who helped Captain Pike and the rest of the landing party deal with the threat of Brennan and Davidson. Her name is Buffy Summers. . .and she is the Slayer."  
  
  
  
. . .to be continued  
  
  
As always, comments are welcomed and desired  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Part II

THE HELLMOUTH PROTOCOL  
  
  
Part II  
  
  
Kirk looked intently at the picture of the young woman on the screen. Clearly no older than sixteen or seventeen, she still seemed to exude the casual power that made one a natural leader. He had looked for that in himself when he was this girl's age, and had seen enough of it within to commit himself to the life path that ultimately led him to the center seat of the Enterprise. He knew that if this young woman had been born on Earth in this time, that drive would have taken her to the bridge of a starship, or anywhere else she cared to be. Abruptly, a thought occurred to him, and he asked, "Spock. . .? It's been fifteen years, and this place seems to be terribly dangerous. . .what makes you think that she's still alive?"  
  
Spock pressed a few buttons, and a complex series of equations appeared on the triple viewscreen. "As you can see, the initial observations of the Enterprise, together with the analysis done by unmanned probes, establish that there is a time flow differential between our universe and the Hellmouth dimension of 6:1, with time travelling more quickly here. Approximately two and one half years have passed there."  
  
Kirk nodded: that would make Buffy and her friends eighteen or nineteen. . .probably starting their university level education. Taking a deep breath, he asked Spock, "That would improve her odds. . .but still, Spock. . .she lives a life of constant danger. . .how can we be sure she has survived?"  
  
Spock paused, and all present could tell that he was reluctant to continue. After a moment, he visibly straightened and replied, "I melded with Ms. Summers during the landing party's stay. . .I have maintained a low-level link with her since. . .I have felt extreme distress from her at various times over the years, but she still lives. . .she apparently has been able to continue her duties all of this time."  
  
Kirk frowned, knowing that such revelations were terribly personal to Spock. He nodded and commented, "Very well, then. It would clearly seem to be in our best interests to contact Miss Summers and her associates and ask for their assistance, within the limitations imposed on us by the Prime Directive. Spock, do you have a suggestion as to how we should proceed?"  
  
Spock pressed a few more buttons, causing a document to appear on the triple viewscreen, then began, "My recommendations are as follows-"  
  
  
* * * * *   
  
Buffy slowly walked down the path, flanked by Willow and Xander. None of them was in a particularly good mood. Buffy had just gotten over the effects of the magic beer that caused her to regress to Cave Buffy, and even the residual pleasure at having socked Parker a couple of good ones was not enough to fully compensate for the humiliation of the whole affair. Willow was still irritated at the attention that Oz had paid to that overrated singer Veruca. Xander was once again out of work, with the bar owner having gotten out of Dodge following the cavemen incident, and Anya had been nagging him to take her out on the town, which was difficult what with his utter lack of income. As a result, all three of them were absolutely thrilled with the idea of taking out some of their aggressions on a blood sucking fiend or two.  
  
Unfortunately, it was a group of three of the fiends in question who found them, and Buffy cursed herself for allowing Xander and Willow to come along as she started beating on the first vampire, praying that she could finish him off in time to help her friends. Xander was holding his own against the vamp attacking him, using his superior reach to hold off the demon with hard jabs while trying to maneuver it into position for staking. Willow was brandishing holy water and a stake, but the vampire attacking her was still warily approaching, ready to dodge a lethal shower of holy water and to avoid the cross while going for the kill.   
  
Abruptly, an arm darted from the bushes next to the vampire attacking Willow and yanked the surprised creature out of sight. Startled, Willow only stared as the sounds of a struggle came from the dense brush. The sounds continued as Buffy finished off her vamp, glanced to see that Willow was OK, then moved over to Xander just in time to see him finish off his own vampire. The two friends exchanged grins, then dashed over to Willow. Buffy called out, "You OK, Will?"  
  
Willow nodded and pointed to the bushes, where the sound of struggle continued, only to be interrupted by the sound of a vampire's death scream. Buffy raised an eyebrow, then called out, "Giles? Is that you?" As she spoke, she somehow knew that it was not her Watcher: she felt a prickling sensation in her neck that she associated with. . .She called out again, "Angel?"  
  
The bushes rustled again, and a tall, lean figure emerged, wearing dark clothing and a ski cap. He glanced around to make sure that they were alone, then removed the cap. The three friends blinked in shock as Spock commented, "Miss Summers. . .Mr. Harris. . .Miss Rosenberg. . .it is good to see you again."  
  
Buffy recovered first, and restrained herself from the affectionate greeting that she would ordinarily give an old friend. Automatically, her right hand went up into the Salute, and she intoned, "Live long and prosper, Mr. Spock."  
  
Willow raised her own hand and intoned the ritual greeting, while Xander's attempt caused his hand to cramp up: he settled for a respectful nod. Spock returned the Salute, intoning, "Peace and long life to you all. . .Miss Summers, there is a matter of some importance that I must discuss with you and your friends. . .is there a convenient place where we can meet?"  
  
Buffy nodded and replied, "We can go over to Giles' apartment. . .I know that he'll want to know what is going on." She smiled ruefully at the Vulcan and commented, "I know that I do."  
  
Spock inclined his head in acknowledgment of Buffy's barely restrained curiosity, then followed the three friends, pulling his ski cap back into position as he did so.  
  
  
* * * * *  
  
  
Giles had asked Buffy, Xander and Willow to stop in at the end of Buffy's patrol: he had been concerned about their moods when he had seen them last, and wanted to make sure that none of them were taking foolish chances. Still, he was surprised at the knock at the door: Buffy shouldn't have been finished with her sweep for another hour or so. Frowning with concern, he opened the door and saw his three friends in apparently good health. . .along with a visitor who looked vaguely familiar. He raised an eyebrow and beckoned for them to come in. The four of them quietly filed in, and Giles covertly watched the visitor as he closed the door and turned back to Buffy, asking, "Is everything all right? You're back early and-my word!" He blinked in surprise as Spock removed his cap, then amended, "I'm sorry. . .Mr. Spock, wasn't it? I'm just quite surprised to see you."  
  
"No apology is necessary, Mr. Giles," the Vulcan replied politely, "however, I am here on a matter of great importance. . .one in which I need to ask for your help, if that is acceptable to you."  
  
Giles gestured for all of them to sit down, and after they had done so Buffy frowned and commented, "Spock, you wouldn't be here if your problem was a burnt out phaser coil or Klingon border incursions. . .whatever those are." She gave Spock an annoyed look: she still had odd moments where knowledge from the link between them caused her to use a phrase that had no meaning to her. Spock gave her an apologetic look in response, and Buffy continued, "My guess is that you have a vampire problem."  
  
"Precisely, Miss Summers," Spock acknowledged and quickly explained the events at Starbase 48, including the invocation of the Hellmouth Protocol. The Vulcan was impressed at the restraint of the four friends as they listened, though their expressions made it clear that they were appalled at what they were hearing. At length, he concluded, and waited for questions.  
  
Predictably, Willow had the first one: "Mr. Spock, if the Stormwatch is anywhere on or near Earth, shouldn't the sensors on the Enterprise be able to detect it?"  
  
Spock nodded, pleased that Willow had cut to the heart of one of their major problems: "Yes, Miss Rosenberg, the sensors of the Enterprise should have no trouble whatsoever in detecting any warp-capable craft if it is in or near the Sol system, even if it is in an area of extreme electromagnetic activity, such as Sol's corona or the Jovian magnetosphere. Unfortunately, the phenomenon you call the Hellmouth creates a great deal of interference that we do not understand well enough to compensate for; furthermore, from what I was able to learn during the Enterprise's last trip here, there are other forces that could possibly conceal a ship from our sensors that could be intentionally invoked."  
  
Giles frowned, then commented, "You mean that a spell might be involved."  
  
Spock nodded again, then elaborated, "Yes, and since we have no experience with the type of energy readings that such a thing might produce, we cannot calibrate our sensors to pierce the interference. Consequently, along with the services of Miss Summers, we will need a practicing sorcerer, if I have my terminology correct."  
  
Willow smiled and replied, "Close, Mr. Spock. . .would you settle for a practicing witch?"   
  
Spock raised an eyebrow, then noted the increased ease in which the young computer expert carried herself. . .two and a half years could change a lot. He nodded gravely and responded, "I believe that would certainly serve our purposes, Miss Rosenberg. If you can produce samples of the appropriate energy types, we can use them to properly calibrate the sensors and pierce any masking that is being maintained." He straightened, then concluded, "With your permission, I would like to have us all transported back to the Enterprise so that we can commence the procedures."  
  
The four friends looked at each other, then nodded in assent, though Willow interjected, "We'll need some supplies, Mr. Spock. . .give us half an hour." Spock nodded, and Willow beckoned to Xander to follow her out the door, where Xander's car was waiting out front. The door closed behind them, and Giles excused himself to retrieve some of his own sorcerous artifacts, leaving Buffy alone with the Vulcan.  
  
Both were quiet for a moment, then Buffy looked at Spock carefully and commented, "Mr. Spock. . .I thought that Vulcans lived a lot longer than humans. . .but you look older. . .not in a bad way, but I can see it. . .it's only been two and a half years-"  
  
"Time flows more quickly in the Enterprise's universe, Miss Summers." Spock interjected quietly, "Approximately fifteen years have passed there since we visited here the last time."  
  
Buffy absorbed that, then pressed, "What about the others, then? Captain Pike. . .?"  
  
"He has retired," Spock's reply was flat, but Buffy had a brief impression that the reference to Spock's former commander had triggered a burst of confused emotions that threatened to pierce the Vulcan's outer calm. Out of respect, she refrained from pressing further, and contented herself with asking, "And the others in the landing party?"  
  
Spock calmly recounted the current activities of the other Enterprise officers that Buffy had met, and she quietly listened until he had concluded. She was about to comment when a knock at the door was heard. Spock looked at Buffy, who motioned at the cap in Spock's lap before going to the door. Spock pulled on the cap, and Buffy opened the door to find Oz standing there. She smiled and greeted him, "Hey, Oz. . .what's going on?"  
  
The guitarist shrugged and replied, "Just thought I should check to see if you needed any help tonight." Oz walked into the apartment and immediately spotted Spock. Buffy quickly reacted to the surprised expression on Oz's face by stepping forward and saying, "Oz, this is Dr. Spock. . .he's a friend of Giles here to study some of the rare demons found here in Sunnydale."  
  
Spock raised an eyebrow at the deception, but said nothing. Oz looked at Spock, sniffed briefly, and turned to the Slayer, commenting, "Buffy. . .you do realize this guy isn't human, right?" Buffy blinked and stared at Oz as he continued, "He doesn't smell right, and I can feel his extra body heat from here. . .want to let me in on what's going on?"  
  
Spock raised his eyebrow again and intoned, "Fascinating." He looked at Buffy and nodded, and Buffy motioned for Oz to sit as she began, "Sorry, Oz, but I was trying to keep a confidence. . .since Spock doesn't mind, I can tell you the story. You may have a hard time believing this, but. . ."  
  
  
  
* * * * *   
  
  
"So this guy is an alien from another dimension who was here a few years back and needs help to keep vampires from the Hellmouth from doing what they've managed to do here?" After listening for ten minutes, Oz did not hesitate to sum up the problem succinctly. Buffy nodded, and Oz commented, "Cool. . .can I help?"  
  
Buffy turned to Spock, who looked at the young man and replied, "As matters stand now, apparently Miss Rosenberg is the crucial participant; however, I have learned that in this place, any offer of help from someone familiar with the situation here should be accepted gratefully." The Vulcan inclined his head at Oz and concluded, "Thank you, Mr. Osbourne."  
  
"You can just call me Oz, Mr. Spock," Oz offered, only to hear Buffy laugh and comment, "Somehow, I don't think so, Oz. . .Vulcans apparently prefer formality." Buffy noticed the change in speaking style in her last sentence and gave Spock a dirty look: Spock simply ignored the glance and turned towards the door. Ten seconds later, the door opened, revealing Xander and Willow.  
  
"I've got everything we need, Mr. Spock. . .so how exactly do-" Willow was already in mid-question as she walked through the front door, and she stopped abruptly upon seeing Oz. Her expression was a mixture of irritation and concern, and Buffy quickly acted to relieve at least part of her tension: "Oz knows the score, Willow. He'll be coming with us."  
  
Willow nodded, though the look she gave Oz was still somewhat ambivalent, and she turned to Spock and asked, "All right then. . .so when do we go?"  
  
Giles walked back into the room with a small carrying bag, and Spock replied, "Immediately, if you are all prepared." The five friends turned to each other, then back to Spock and nodded in unison. Spock nodded back at them and pulled out his communicator, flipping it open and intoning, "Spock to Enterprise. . .six to beam up at these coordinates."  
  
"Acknowledged, Mr. Spock. Stand by." Transporter Chief Kyle's familiar voice crackled back from the communicator, and Spock looked up at Buffy and her friends, noting that they seemed a little uncomfortable (except for Oz, who seemed to be taking the situation in stride). He raised an eyebrow, then commented, "There is no cause for concern. . .the transporter is an extremely safe method of travel, though the first experience with it can be. . .intriguing."   
  
Buffy's eyes widened, and she began, "What do you mean, intri-?" At that moment, the transporter effect claimed them, and seconds later the room was empty.  
  
Moments later, the front door opened again, and Anya walked into the room. She glanced around for several minutes, checking all of the rooms of the apartment, then grumbled, "Damn it. . .I was sure he would be here. . .and I really wanted to have sex tonight." She shrugged and left, and the slight final discharge of residual static from the operation of the transporter passed without witness.  
  
  
. . .to be continued  
  
  
As always, comments are welcomed and desired  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Part III

Summary: Captain Kirk is shocked when Spock abruptly takes command under a secret Starfleet protocol and orders the destruction of a Federation starbase. Spock's explanation shocks him even more. . . Follow-up to, "Beaming Down. . .to a Hellmouth?"  
  
Disclaimer: All of these characters remain the property of their owners/creators. . .I'm just borrowing them for a spell. . .  
  
Rating: PG-13, for violence and themes.  
  
Time Frame: Third season of ST: TOS, not long after "The Enterprise Incident." Fourth season BTVS, a few days after the events of "Beer Bad."   
  
Archiving: Be my guest, but e-mail me (eilandesq@aol.com) to let me know. . .I like to know where stuff I write ends up and I might want to see what else you've got.  
  
THE HELLMOUTH PROTOCOL  
  
  
Part III  
  
  
Buffy's vision cleared, and she found herself standing near the edge of a circular platform, looking into a small room where a light-haired man of medium height wearing a red Starfleet uniform was standing behind a console, looking mildly pleased. Buffy turned, feeling the residual tingling fading as she looked at the others, who were also taking in their new surroundings. . .except for Spock, who had already stepped off the platform and called out, "Thank you, Mr. Kyle," as he reached out and punched a white button next to a grid on the wall: "Spock to bridge: mission successful, Captain. . .I have brought back Miss Summers and her associates."  
  
"Good job, Spock. . .take them down to Sickbay in accordance with our previous discussion. I'll be down as soon as I can. Kirk out." Buffy raised an interested eyebrow: the air of command she remembered from Pike was there with this new captain, but he seemed different, somehow. She met Spock's eyes as he turned back to the group and asked, "Why are we going to Sickbay, Mr. Spock? We all feel fine, as far as I know." She turned back and received confirming nods from her friends before turning back to Spock for an answer.  
  
The Vulcan nodded and replied, "Although your world is a close parallel of the Earth of our universe, random variations may possibly have created microorganisms there that our systems may have no immunity against, or vice versa. Dr. McCoy wishes to examine you to prevent such an unpleasant problem from coming up, and to ask a few questions about vampire physiology that might help us detect them with our sensors once Miss Rosenberg assists us with piercing the interference from the Hellmouth. . .is this acceptable to all of you?"  
  
Buffy frowned, then nodded and responded, "It's fine with me, Mr. Spock. . .I don't want to catch some weird space bug, and I don't want to make anyone sick here, either." She looked back at the others, who nodded in agreement, and turned back to Spock, concluding, "Let's get it over with, then. . .I hate needles."  
  
Spock had to restrain himself from smiling as he led the group to Sickbay, where even the Vulcan-like composure of Oz was somewhat diminished as he, along with the others, openly gawked at the gleaming corridors and modern equipment in them. The sight of a tall, redheaded yeoman walking past them momentarily mesmerized Xander, and it took an elbow to the ribs and a dirty look from Willow to get him moving again.  
  
At length, after a brief journey in the turbolift that had all five of Spock's guests silently watching the lights along the sides that reflected horizontal and vertical movement, Spock led them all into Sickbay, where a dark-haired man and a tall blonde woman, both wearing blue uniforms that were somewhat different from Spock's, turned to greet them. Spock handled the introductions quickly with spare words and a few gestures: "This is Dr. McCoy, and this is Nurse Chapel. Dr. McCoy, Nurse Chapel. . .this is Buffy Summers, and these are her associates: Rupert Giles, Willow Rosenberg, Xander Harris, and Daniel Osbourne. . .who prefers to be called 'Oz.'"  
  
Friendly handshakes were exchanged all around, and afterwards McCoy got down to business: "All right. . .we have enough beds for all of you. Please choose one, get comfortable, and Nurse Chapel will check with each of you before I come by and examine you myself." The five visitors nodded and walked over to the beds, and McCoy turned and made a beeline to Spock, whispering, "These are the people you were talking about? They seem rather normal to me, Spock."  
  
Spock looked at McCoy calmly and replied, "I think you will obtain some interesting readings from Miss Summers, Doctor. . .and from at least one of the others, if I'm not mistaken."  
  
McCoy glared suspiciously at Spock, then walked over to the first occupied bed, Spock silently following in order to observe. Giles was staring at fascination at the display, which showed mildly elevated pulse and metabolic rates due to his fascination. It took McCoy only a few moments using the bed's sensors and his portable scanner to determine that Giles carried no dangerous organisms and was in excellent condition, though scars on his body made it clear that he had suffered some form of gross physical abuse in the past few years. The doctor frowned, then resolved to bring it up with the man privately later if he could as he moved on to the next bed.  
  
A few more minutes told McCoy that Willow was also in excellent health, and from the pointed questions she asked him about what he was doing and the operation of his medical sensors, clearly possessed an agile and curious mind. He smiled at her when the examination was finished, then moved on to the bed where Buffy Summers was quietly resting.  
  
McCoy looked up and saw that some of the life sign readings were well out of the normal ranges. He frowned and used his portable scanner, which made an odd noise. He glared at the innocuous looking device, then adjusted it and ran the scan again, and blinked at what it told him. He turned to Spock and accused, "You picked a strange time to develop a sense of humor, Spock. . .you've obviously tampered with these instruments."  
  
Spock raised an eyebrow, and Buffy stifled a laugh as the Vulcan replied, "Doctor. . .you know very well I would do no such thing. . .what do your instruments tell you about Miss Summers?"  
  
Suddenly remembering his medical ethics, McCoy turned to Buffy, who immediately understood his concern and nodded to give permission. McCoy glared at Spock and responded, "According to my sensors, Buffy is 155 centimeters tall and masses just under 45 kilograms. . .or as my great-grandpappy would have put it, five foot two and 98 pounds. In spite of this, my scanners insist that she has physical strength twenty percent greater than yours, not to mention reflexes ten times normal human speed, sight and hearing ranges four times human norms, and a natural regenerative rate that makes a Vulcan healing trance look like a field bandage by comparison."  
  
Spock raised an eyebrow and intoned, "Fascinating," then turned to Buffy and commented, "Your strength has substantially increased in the last two and a half years."  
  
Buffy smiled, sensing Spock's reminiscence about their brief struggle together that had ended in the mind meld, then shrugged and commented, "I'm a growing girl, Mr. Spock. . .strength comes from conflict, and all that jazz."  
  
Spock blinked, then nodded in acceptance of Buffy's answer as he walked over to McCoy's computer and typed in an override code. McCoy blinked in confusion as the computer spit out a tape, and Spock retrieved the tape and handed it to McCoy, commenting, "These are the readings that Dr. Boyce took of Miss Summers. . .except for her physical strength, which has increased substantially, the readings you have just obtained are within the ranges that he detected for her capabilities." Noting McCoy's renewed glare at him, the Vulcan explained, "Medical scanning technology has advanced substantially in the past fifteen years, Doctor. . .I was attempting to allow you to come up with a wholly independent set of readings with the modern equipment before I passed on the findings of Doctor Boyce. . .and I believe that my efforts were successful."  
  
McCoy held the glare for a moment longer, then turned away and grumbled, "It would be nice if you let me know when you're going to run tests on me, Spock. . .this is MY Sickbay, after all." Spock was silent as McCoy continued taking readings, then raised an eyebrow and commented, "The scan shows substantial activity in the psionic areas of the brain. . .well beyond human norms. Buffy, do you have any extrasensory abilities?"  
  
Buffy frowned, then replied, "Well. . .I do tend to know when something big and nasty is about to jump out at me, and I have Slayer's dreams. . .they tell me what Big Evil is coming my way, in an annoying weird and cryptic way. . .not exactly reliable."  
  
McCoy nodded, managing to remain politely interested rather than making a beeline for his computer console to begin writing a research paper on his new patient. He concluded the examination, assured Buffy that she was in perfect health, then walked over to the next bed.  
  
Xander had actually managed to doze off, and started a bit when McCoy walked up to his bed and glanced at the medibed readings. He watched as McCoy recalibrated his sensor back to human norms and scanned Xander quickly. After a few moments, the doctor smiled at Xander and commented, "You're in excellent condition, Xander. . .though the scan does show that you are somewhat more fatigued than the norm. . .have you been engaged in some form of exceptionally strenuous exercise lately?"  
  
Spock, who was still standing near Buffy's bed, heard Willow mutter, "Ex-demon tramp." The Vulcan turned and raised an eyebrow, and Willow blushed crimson at the scrutiny from Spock, as well as the snicker that came from Buffy, who had also heard Willow's comment.  
  
Xander blushed at McCoy's question, then recovered and replied, "Nothing I can't handle, Doc. . .Sunnydale can get a bit hectic."  
  
Frowning at the evasive answer but not seeing any real hazard to the young man's health, McCoy nodded and went over to where Oz was quietly taking in his surroundings. Chapel was waiting there and handed him a medical tricorder, which McCoy immediately examined. Spock quietly walked up and asked, "What is the concern here, Doctor?"  
  
McCoy frowned, then turned to Oz and commented, "Oz. . .Nurse Chapel has already given the others the standard anti-viral and anti-bacterial hypo sprays, since the readings we obtained indicated that they would do no harm and should prevent any inadvertent infections either to or from you while you are here." Oz nodded, and McCoy continued, "However, the initial scans have picked up an odd viral infection that we are not familiar with, and which might have unfortunate effects on the crew here if it spreads." He used his scanner on Oz, noted the readings, then continued, "The readings indicate that a non-standard anti-viral treatment might eradicate the infection. . .but it doesn't seem to be harming you as things stand, and I am reluctant to recommend treatment that doesn't necessarily have any positive effects to the patient. If you wish, Mr. Spock can arrange to have you beamed back down to the surface rather than to undergo this treatment."  
  
Oz pondered McCoy's offer, then shook his head and replied, "I came up here to help, Doctor. . .and I don't like the idea of some virus sitting inside me, even if it is being quiet for now." He locked eyes with McCoy and concluded, "Go ahead and get rid of it."  
  
McCoy nodded, then responded, "It will take a few moments to synthesize the anti-viral agent." He turned toward the others and called out, "If the rest of you want to get up and stretch your legs now, your examinations are complete."  
  
Buffy and the others smiled and rolled off of the medibeds, noticing that the life readings went dark as soon as they hit the floor. Willow immediately went over to Oz, and Buffy was preparing to ask Spock a question when she heard footsteps and heard a now familiar voice call out, "Well. . .it seems that the festivities here are well underway."  
  
Buffy turned and saw a man of medium height and build wearing a uniform much like the one that Captain Pike had worn, and the acquired knowledge she had picked up from Spock allowed her to spot the braiding on the uniform wrists that identified his rank. . .this had to be Captain Kirk. She took a moment to study him: his hair was brown like Pike's, but the intense blue eyes of the former Enterprise captain were replaced by warm hazel ones, and the humor that had only come out at need from Pike was openly visible in this man. She glanced over at Spock: she knew that Spock had admired Pike as a commanding officer and would have gladly gone to his death for him, but the subtle change in the Vulcan's expression told her that this man was Spock's friend, and she felt a moment of joy in knowing that the lonely man that she had by accident come to know so well had found someone he felt comfortable enough to let into his life. She stepped forward and extended her hand, then said simply, "Captain Kirk. . .I'm Buffy Summers. . .it's nice to meet you."  
  
Kirk blinked: the air of casual power that he had perceived when he had seen the years' old photo of Buffy was even more pronounced here, particularly when coming from someone who otherwise looked so delicate. He grasped her hand and shook it firmly, then asked, "Has everything here been to your satisfaction?"  
  
Buffy nodded, then replied, "Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy are excellent hosts. . .and if medical exams back home were this easy, I wouldn't mind them so much." Kirk smiled, and Buffy momentarily wondered how the captain had used that smile on other women in the past before continuing, "I was wondering, though. . .from what I've heard from Spock and the others who came here before, one of your foremost laws is that interfering in primitive cultures is not a good idea, and should be avoided whenever possible. . .aren't you worried that showing us all of this stuff will cause problems in the future?"  
  
Kirk found himself nodding, impressed by the ability of this young woman to cut to the quick of a potentially serious problem; fortunately, a ready answer was at hand. He turned to Spock and nodded, and the science officer quickly offered an answer: "Miss Summers. . .although your world and the Earth of our twentieth century are superficially similar, there are very important differences. . .the laws of physics are different, computer technology is accelerated while space travel is far less advanced. . .it is inevitable that technological progress will take a different course than it did in our universe, and therefore it will do no harm to let you see how it progressed in ours, even if you were somehow inclined to pass the information on to others. Of course, even if this were not the case, the presence of technology from our universe in yours might well have far more destructive consequences than mere knowledge of the possibilities of future technology could cause."  
  
Buffy nodded again, then replied, "All right then. . .as soon as Dr. McCoy finishes with Oz, we can help you find those vampires and get all of that technology back where it belongs. . .and get all of you out of a really nasty place." Buffy's expression darkened, and Kirk's momentary impulse to offer some kind of comforting gesture to the Slayer was interrupted when McCoy returned and announced, "The anti-viral injection is ready." McCoy looked down at Oz, who was still resting comfortably, then asked, "Are you certain that you want to accept this treatment, Oz?"  
  
Oz looked up at McCoy and nodded once, and McCoy smiled at the younger man before applying the hypospray to Oz's neck and stepping away. Willow was standing on the other side of the medibed and holding Oz's hand, and so was the first to notice the spasms that began coursing through Oz's body. Her eyes widened and her voice quavered as she called out, "Oz?"  
  
Oz's eyes locked onto Willow's as he grated, "Get away from me, Willow. . .something's wrong." Willow hesitated, and Oz growled low in his throat and forcefully thrust Willow away from him, knocking her back into the nearest medibed.  
  
Buffy quickly moved over to check that Willow was all right, then locked eyes with McCoy and demanded, "What's wrong with him?"  
  
McCoy frowned, then took a moment to register the extreme concern on the other faces in the room before replying, "I don't know, but it looks like he is going into shock." He glanced up and noted the abnormal readings registered by the medibed sensors with concern, then took the medical tricorder from Chapel and ran a quick scan before snapping, "Nurse Chapel. . .neo-miazine. . .fifty ccs."  
  
Chapel nodded and handed him the hypo, which McCoy immediately applied. . .to no apparent effect, as Oz continued to writhe in obvious pain. McCoy thought for a long moment, then ordered, "Nurse. . .break out the hibernation drugs. . .we may have to slow his metabolism down until we can find out what in the hell is inducing this reaction." He shook his head in frustration and snapped, "I can't understand it. . .these reactions are completely unprecedented. . ."  
  
Abruptly, Oz stopped convulsing, and the readings on the medibed panel moved back into the normal ranges. McCoy blinked, and was running another scan of his rather unusual patient when Willow came up beside him and demanded, "Is he all right, Doctor?"  
  
McCoy finished his scan, then nodded and replied, "Apparently, he's fine now. . .the virus apparently caused a toxic reaction to the anti-viral injection, but the neo-miazine compensated for that, and the virus was eradicated without further complications. . .we were very lucky here." He looked down at his patient and concluded, "Oz. . .I'm terribly sorry the therapy led to these complications."  
  
Oz blinked, then sat up and smiled softly before responding, "You gave me a chance to back out, Doctor. . .and I feel fine now. I've got enough problems without some unknown virus to worry about."  
  
McCoy raised an eyebrow, but Oz didn't elaborate as he got to his feet and gave Willow an apologetic look before accepting a hug from her. Kirk smiled at the happy reunion, then called out, "If everything is finished here, Bones-?" McCoy nodded, and Kirk continued, "Good. . .then if you will follow me, we will adjourn to the bridge, where Mr. Spock will introduce you to the main sensors of the Enterprise, and you can work a little magic."  
  
The visitors shared a laugh with Kirk before following him out, and Spock raised an eyebrow before following in their wake.  
  
  
. . .to be continued  
  
  
As always, comments are welcomed and desired  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Part IV

Summary: Captain Kirk is shocked when Spock abruptly takes command under a secret Starfleet protocol and orders the destruction of a Federation starbase. Spock's explanation shocks him even more. . . Follow-up to, "Beaming Down. . .to a Hellmouth?"   
  
Disclaimer: All of these characters remain the property of their owners/creators. . .I'm just borrowing them for a spell. . .   
  
Rating: PG-13, for violence and themes.   
  
Time Frame: Third season of ST: TOS, not long after "The Enterprise Incident." Fourth season BTVS, a few days after the events of "Beer Bad."   
  
Archiving: Be my guest, but e-mail me (eilandesq@aol.com) to let me know. . .I like to know where stuff I write ends up and I might want to see what else you've got.   
  
THE HELLMOUTH PROTOCOL   
  
  
Part IV   
  
  
The turbolift doors hissed open, and Kirk and Spock led their guests out onto the bridge of the Enterprise. Giles and Xander immediately started examining the panels near the elevator, Willow stood and glanced at various artifacts within her line of vision, and Oz-for once-had the most to say: "Cool." As for Buffy, she quietly stepped forward and leaned against the chair in the middle of it all, staring silently at the large blue sphere dominating the viewscreen at the front of the bridge-   
  
"Miss Summers." Buffy flinched, then blinked and turned to Spock, who was looking at her with an apparently neutral expression, though Buffy felt a slight inkling of humor and understanding through their residual link as Spock continued, "The Captain wished to introduce you all to the main bridge crew before Miss Rosenberg began her efforts."   
  
Buffy smiled, then returned to the upper deck of the Bridge as Kirk started the introductions with the stunning black woman sitting closest to the turbolift on the right. He introduced her as Chief Communications Officer Lieutenant Uhura, and Buffy noticed that Giles was very polished and suave in greeting her. * OK. . .I've got enough issues with Giles' Hugh Hefner period without having to think about him hitting on women from outer space * Oz greeted her politely but without overt enthusiasm, and Buffy could see that some of the remaining hostility that Willow was feeling about Oz had just dissipated, although his near death experience just a few moments ago might have had something to do with it. * That's normal for Oz. . .he hardly seems to notice other women exist: what is it about Veruca that has him looking? *   
  
Willow exchanged warm greetings with Uhura, then Xander stepped forward with a wide, interested smile on his face as he began: "Well, I can't tell you how nice-"   
  
"Ex-vengeance demon girlfriend," Willow reminded him, sotto voce.   
  
"-it is to see someone who can keep communications running as smoothly as you do." Xander finished, turning pale. Uhura nodded politely at him, as Buffy and Willow snickered and Kirk quietly noticed the by-play and wondered about this girlfriend of Xander's. After Buffy had greeted Uhura with a friendly smile and firm handshake, they had gone on to meet the rest of the bridge crew. Lieutenant Sulu seemed to be particularly interested in Willow, talking animatedly about his interest in botany and wondering about how witchcraft had been applied to horticulture in their world. Ensign Chekov had, on the other hand, seemed rather edgy around Willow (Buffy had heard Giles mutter, "That boy was probably raised on tales of Baba Yaga. . .small wonder he's nervous about witches."), but seemed more comfortable around Oz and Xander, and had cast a rather appraising look her way before flinching and looking away guiltily. * Sigh. . .another guy scared off by the Slayer legend. . .at least in this case there wasn't going to be anything long-term possible no matter what * They had met the rest of the bridge crew, who were polite but mostly concerned with going on with their duties, then they gathered near the Science station, where Spock had relieved Chekov and busily flipped a number of switches before turning to Willow and announcing, "This station is set to scan anomalous energy readings within the Bridge itself. . .the stage is yours, Miss Rosenberg."   
  
Willow smiled at Spock and replied formally, "Thank you, Commander." She sat down on the deck, visibly relaxed herself, then began: "I've been thinking about what they could be doing to hide a spacecraft down there, and the first thing that came to mind was that the engines must give off energy of some kind that your sensors could detect." Spock nodded, and Willow continued, "There are a few spells that will mask heat or other kinds of energy. . .they are used to hide magical activity from those who might find it objectionable. The most common versions are the following-" Willow uttered a few words and made a gesture, and the Science console began beeping loudly.   
  
Spock checked his instruments, then turned back to Willow and raised his eyebrow before commenting, "Remarkable. Your body heat readings have been completely blocked: you register as room temperature." He turned back to the console, checked the readings again, then made an adjustment or two before turning back and reporting, "I have made the appropriate adjustments to pierce the interference. . .please continue."   
  
Willow nodded, and she demonstrated three more spells that blocked her body heat readings. Spock adjusted for all of them, then explained other factors that allowed the ship's sensors to spot both life forms and machines. Willow thought for a few moments, then tried a few more spells, this time using a tricorder helpfully supplied by Sulu to act as the test object. Spock spent considerably longer adjusting his instruments this time, but eventually he was able to compensate for the interference in each case.   
  
The others watched in fascination: Kirk smiled at the completely focused expression on Spock's face, and didn't notice the presence beside him for several seconds, until he heard a subtle clearing of a throat beside him. He turned, and Oz was looking at him with a mildly embarrassed expression. The starship captain looked at the younger man and asked, "Is there something I can do for you, Oz?"   
  
Oz blinked, then nodded and replied, "Sorry to bother you, but I needed to-" He paused, and it took a moment before Kirk realized the problem. He pointed to a gap between the consoles, and Oz nodded in thanks and left without another word. Kirk shook his head, then turned back to Willow and Spock.   
  
Spock nodded, then commented, "These experiments have been very helpful, Miss Rosenberg, but detecting vampiric life signs is still a problem. At the space station, we could scan and tell that there were no living beings aboard, but that doesn't help us with locating a group of them hidden somewhere in the area around the Hellmouth. . .do you have any suggestions?"   
  
Willow frowned, then smiled and uttered a brief incantation. Abruptly, everyone on the bridge began to emit a faint glow. Willow nodded as if to confirm what she had done, and explained, "Everyone here is glowing in a way determined by what their genetic and/or magical background is." She gestured to Sulu, Xander and Chekov were standing, and everyone noted the soft blue glow coming from them. She next inclined her head at Giles, and all could see the golden sparkles that was mixed in with the blue of his aura, as well as Willow's. Spock raised an eyebrow as he raised his hands, noting the crimson glow. Abruptly, there was a startled curse, and all turned to Buffy, who was emitting a bright white glow. The Slayer gave her best friend a dirty look and asked pointedly, "Could you shut this off, Willow? This is a bit embarrassing."   
  
Willow nodded absently, then looked over to where Oz had been standing and frowned in surprise before asking "Where did Oz go?"   
  
Kirk smiled and replied, "Call of nature, Willow. . .he should be back soon." Willow nodded in comprehension and made a brief gesture, causing the glows to vanish and Buffy to sigh in relief. Kirk's eyes widened as he commented, "Very impressive, Willow. What would a vampire look like under the influence of that spell?"   
  
"His aura would be black, with silver sparkles." Willow replied immediately, before turning back to Spock and asking, "Did you get a reading on that, Mr. Spock?"   
  
Spock nodded, then made a few adjustments to his console before turning to Kirk and looking inquisitively at him. Kirk nodded, and Spock pressed a few switches, changing the view on the main screen to what appeared to be an aerial view of Sunnydale. Spock snapped a few more switches, and clusters of dots of various colors appeared in various spots on the screen. Spock turned to the others and explained, "I recalibrated the sensors to emit the type of energy produced by the last spell Miss Rosenberg cast, at a level where no visible effects would be produced, except as far as the Enterprise's sensors are concerned. As you can all see, the vast majority of the readings are from humans and other mammals. . .I will block off those readings now." Spock pressed a switch, and most of the dots vanished. An extremely bright dot remained visible in a large group of buildings, and Spock raised an eyebrow and commented, "That reading indicates the presence of a Slayer. . .obviously, that cannot be, from what I have learned from Miss Summers in the past. The sensors must be malfunctioning."   
  
"No, Spock. . .they're working fine." Spock raised an eyebrow at Buffy's words, and Kirk felt a pang of sympathy for the young woman as she shook her head sadly and added, "I'll explain later. . .you can ignore her for now: she's not going anywhere."   
  
Spock nodded, without comprehension, then pressed more switches. Dots continued to vanish, and before long there were only a few dozen dots visible on the screen, most of which were shimmering black and silver. Spock turned back to the others and noted, "Unfortunately, this type of energy will not penetrate below ground more than a few meters. . .if they are in a deep cave-"   
  
"Not too many of those in Sunnydale, Mr. Spock, and we can search the ones that are there, no problem." Buffy's response was matter of fact, and Spock was nodding as the Slayer frowned and commented, "There's a bunch of them. . .around that bright green dot there. What does that color represent, Will?"   
  
Willow--who was looking over to where Oz had just rejoined Xander and Giles--turned to look at the viewscreen and frowned before replying, "I don't know, Buffy. . .I've never seen that color from the spell."   
  
Spock looked over at Kirk, who nodded. Spock pressed several switches, and the viewscreen returned to a view of Earth as Spock announced, "Conducting tight sensor scan of the area in question." The Bridge was silent for twenty seconds as Spock leaned over his viewer. At length, the Vulcan straightened, turned, and announced: "Reading indicate the presence of nine vampires, and one male Andorian. . .alive and in good health."   
  
Kirk frowned and turned to the visitors, commenting, "Well, it seems that we've gone from this being a clean-up operation to it being a rescue operation." He turned back to Spock and asked, "Can we get a transporter lock on the Andorian?"   
  
Spock looked back into his viewer, then nodded once. Kirk smiled coldly and commented, "Then it's not a hostage situation any more, and we can structure our assault on the location appropriately." He frowned, then ordered, "Spock, assemble a landing party appropriate for the mission and have them meet us in the Main Briefing Room in twenty minutes." He turned back to Buffy and smiled as he requested, "Miss Summers, could I prevail on you to conduct a briefing for my crew as to the best way to deal with these creatures?"   
  
Buffy smiled coldly and replied, "It would be my pleasure, Captain." Without another word, she stalked over to the turbolift and walked in. After a moment, she looked out at the others and called out in an annoyed tone: "So are you all coming along, or what?"   
  
The four friends exchanged glances and smiles before following Buffy to the elevator, and Kirk followed in their wake, impressed by the bond that they clearly shared.   
  
The turbolift doors closed, and Spock watched as they did. If he had been fully human, he would have sighed; instead, he calmly weighed the appropriate considerations in his head, then began contacting crewmembers for the mission to the surface that would soon follow.   
  
  
. . .to be continued   
  
  
As always, comments are welcomed and desired


	5. Part V

Part V

Andrew lit a cigarette and leaned against the wall of the bathroom. The usual facilities of the room were useless to him, but it was a nice spot for privacy--the other minions the new master had hired were as dumb as posts and half as interesting to be around. They were adequate for guarding purposes, but the master had taken the smarter minions with him when he left thirty-six hours before, and Andrew had been left in charge. He had ordered them to go out for food in shifts during the night, and to watch the strange blue-skinned alien carefully. So far, his orders had been obeyed, and he was just marking time until his boss showed up and told him how the latest plan to conquer the world would proceed. He sighed in annoyance. Spike was a sadistic jerk, but at least he wasn't cryptic 

He heard a commotion outside, and he went to the peephole that the thoughtful owner of the home had installed before he was dispossessed by the vampires. He looked--and the first face he saw caused him to freeze in sheer terror:

Buffy Summers.

The Slayer was storming through the living area of the house, accompanied by nine men wearing strangely colored uniforms. The minions were attacking, but Buffy was cutting a swath through them, and the men were wielding stakes and cattle prods with deadly efficiency. Andrew also noted that the chair that had contained the alien was conspicuously empty. He cursed and retreated to a small closet in a corner of the bathroom. Surely they would see eight vampires and assume there were no more there. . .

The house went silent, and Andrew relaxed slightly. This ended when he heard the bathroom door crash open, and after a few seconds, the closet door opened--revealing Buffy Summers, who was standing there with a terrifying smile on her face. Andrew shuddered as the Slayer raised an eyebrow and commented, "I know you--you should have skipped town for good after Spike ran off." She turned to the tall man with pointed ears--who Andrew also belatedly recognized--and commented, "Wish I could keep one of those tricorders after you guys leave, Spock--they'd make my job a lot easier."

The alien gave Buffy a tolerant look, and she sighed and said, "Fine--ruin my dreams of easy Slayage."

A man of medium-height and build who wore the unmistakable aura of command walked into the bathroom and up to Buffy. "The rest of the house is empty--no Federation equipment to be found, and no written plans or other evidence present." The man looked at Andrew and then back at Buffy. "Our brig is, of course, at your disposal."

Andrew stared at the man, then shivered again as Buffy shook her head and said simply, "Thanks, Captain Kirk, but I think it would be a bad idea. I am aware through Mr. Spock of certain Federation laws that wouldn't be consistent with what's about to happen to Chuckles here."

Andrew saw Kirk stiffen, then nod and depart. The Slayer turned to the alien next to her and said simply, "Mr. Spock--you should go too."

Mr. Spock shook his head. "I will remain, Miss Summers. This is a non-Federation world, and as such the Prime Directive applies: I will not interfere. However, the Hellmouth Protocol requires that in instances when information might be available to alleviate the crisis which triggered its activation, a representative of Starfleet aware of the Protocol must be present if possible to monitor the events and record them for future study." Andrew saw Buffy shiver, and Mr. Spock inclined his head and added, "However, records need not be preserved of any. . .preliminaries that precede the actual dissemination of information."

Andrew's eyes widened--it didn't take a rocket scientist to realize what the alien was suggesting. Buffy nodded once, and turned back to Andrew with a cold, cold expression that frightened him far more than the smile had. She pulled out a small metal cross and a bottle of holy water, and stared at Andrew for fully five seconds before the smile returned and she said simply, "It'll stop when you're ready."

Buffy brushed the dust from her hands and stood up. "Interesting stuff--but I think it will make more sense if we talk about it back in the Enterprise briefing room with the others." She started out the door, but noted that Spock was still standing next to where the vampire had been, looking at her. Buffy sighed and asked bluntly, "Spock--is there something you want to say to me?"

Spock looked at her and nodded once before replying, "Yes Buffy, there is." He locked eyes with her and said quietly, "Although I am devoting no particular effort to maintaining it, there is still a residual link between us, and you do not have the mental discipline of a Vulcan. You are feeling great shame right now that you were forced to resort to physical coercion to compel that vampire to surrender the evidence in its possession, and you were further upset by Captain Kirk's reaction to your revealed intentions. Buffy--Captain Kirk is a civilized and modern man, but he is aware of the demands of emergencies, and I had already suggested to him that such a course of action might be necessary. I am certain that he appreciated your intentions in taking this matter onto yourself for the sake of both our worlds."

Buffy closed her eyes, and heard Spock continue, "As for myself, Buffy--vampires conceptually are an abomination to me, as they would be for any Vulcan. To have all that one is perverted and turned against all that we hold sacred in our lives. . .it is difficult to imagine something worse that could happen to one of us. The need to deviate from the ideal of pacifism to destroy such a menace is something that Surak would have countenanced without hesitation--of this, I am certain. Starfleet Command considered the possibility that Vulcan ideals would prevent me from performing my duties under the Protocol and offered me the use of memory-blocking drugs to relieve me of those duties without prejudice--I declined, and they found my reasons for doing so compelling enough to share the information with the Vulcan High Council." Spock held out his tricorder and concluded, "I've edited the recording to only include the relevant information--I suggest we beam up and brief the others."

Buffy smiled and said simply, "Thank you, Mr. Spock." She pulled out the communicator that had been resting on her belt, and called out, "Two to beam up, Mr. Kyle!"

The triple screen went dark, and Kirk turned to the silent watchers: "Comments?"

"He didn't know all that much," Buffy commented, shaking her head in annoyance. "He was working for somebody who turned someone they couldn't handle when they woke up as a vamp. New guy stakes his sire and takes over what's left of Spike's organization. Andrew and the other minions got fed the old "we will wipe out the pathetic humans and take over the world" line, and he had heard the same thing from Pike's people who got turned--I'm thinking that the new master is the captain of the Stormwatch." She frowned and looked back at Kirk. "If that Angborian guy knows anything, this might be a good time to ask him."

Kirk suppressed a smile at Buffy's mangling of "Andorian" and hit the intercom button: "Bones, we're ready for him whenever you are."

After a few seconds, the doors to the briefing room opened, and a hover chair floated in, followed by McCoy, who was fiddling with a medical instrument and watching the chair's occupant with mild concern. The Andorian was more or less a typical representative of his race and gender: he was slightly shorter than Xander and built along slender lines, with the characteristic blue skin, white hair, and prominent antennae in the place of ears. The chair stopped about three feet from Kirk, and he stood and inclined his head to the visitor. "I am Captain James T. Kirk, commander of the Enterprise. Dr. McCoy informs me that you are recovering rapidly, Mr.--"

"Andorian names are a bit elaborate for humans to deal with, Captain," the Andorian replied apologetically, looking vaguely uncomfortable. "My crewmates and the captain generally called me 'Mr. Zhuk.'"

Kirk frowned, then nodded and commented, "Very well, Mr. Zhuk. Are we correct in assuming that you were a member of the crew of the Stormwatch on the voyage that brought it to this dimension?"

"Yes," Zhuk replied. "We were on a cargo run when a severe ion storm blew out our sensors and threw us off course. When we recovered, we found ourselves in the middle of a restricted area seeded with warning buoys; unfortunately, the buoys did not reveal the nature of the danger. We attempted to withdraw from the field, but were drawn into a strange phenomenon that brought us into a star system that was a near-duplicate of the Sol System. We entered orbit and Captain Lewis and two of our crew beamed down to a spot that our instruments suggested might be the source of the disturbance, with the hope that the immense power it seemed to emit might well be harnessed in some way."

Kirk nodded. He had already reviewed the record of Alan Lewis, the captain and owner of the Stormwatch. Five years in Starfleet--resigned his commission when his father died ten years ago and left him a small planetary prospecting operation--much like the one that the deeply annoying Cyrano Jones had operated before the tribble incident clipped his wings--made a couple of lucrative finds and was able to buy a first-rate scoutship for his business. From all accounts, a good man--and he had apparently met his end along with two of his crew on a planet that contained dangers beyond his imagination. He frowned and asked, "How long were they down there before they signaled for beam-up?"

"Thirty-six hours--and they had been out of communication for most of that time," replied Zhuk, shaking his head sadly. "We had been prepared for the possibility of deception--even for being forced to bring intruders along by coercive means. The captain used all the proper passwords and even seemed all right at first--but before I knew it I was alone and facing the captain on the bridge. He had become one of those things that was guarding me down on the planet. I tried to defend myself, but phasers don't work right here. He just laughed at me and dragged me off to the mess room--the rest of the crew were lying there, piled like storage crates. I thought they were all dead, but as I watched, some of them started to move--they had been turned into those horrid creatures. The captain had me bound to a chair and invited one of the creatures that had been on the surface with him to 'do the honors.' It leaned down and bit my neck, and I thought I was done for--but it started shrieking and withdrew from me, then burst into flames that burned it into ashes. The captain looked angry, but he recovered quickly and said that he would have to research other ways to compel my loyalty. He sent me down to the surface, where I was taken to that house and remained there until you rescued me."

Kirk blinked at the latter part of Zhuk's story, and turned to McCoy: "Bones, I don't remember seeing anything in the Enterprise's landing party notes from fifteen years ago about vampires bursting into flames when trying to feed--do you have any theories?"

McCoy shook his head. "Jim, I've got a detailed description of how a human being is transformed into a vampire, but I haven't the slightest idea as to why it works--it might as well be a man in a robe saying 'Hocus Pocus!' as far as understanding it goes. The obvious thing to consider would be that Mr. Zhuk's Andorian physiology is alien to the vampire in some way that provokes an extreme chemical reaction of some time."

"Doctor, your reasoning would appear to be sound." Spock looked up from his tricorder and ejected a data tape, which he inserted into a slot next to the triple screen. The screens lit up and showed a blood analysis chart. "This is an analysis of vampire blood--I took the opportunity to scan a sample while we were on the surface." Buffy stirred in visible discomfort, and Kirk directed a supportive smile at her before Spock continued, "I must confess that--as is the case with Dr. McCoy--I am unable to discern any reason why this substance should produce the effects that it demonstrably does. There are odd energy readings associated with the substance, but I am unable to analyze its properties--it is reasonable to assume that the energy is the key to the transformation process. However, the substance does have properties as a mundane substance of the same chemical makeup would--it reacts violently to certain compounds containing phosphorus."

Most of the occupants of the room were puzzled by Spock's comment, but Willow raised an eyebrow: "Mr. Spock, does Andorian hemoglobin contain phosphorus?"

"Yes, Miss Rosenberg--excellent reasoning." Spock gave Willow an approving nod, and McCoy winked at her. Chekov flushed slightly and concentrated on remaining invisible--Mr. Spock was less than gentle with protégés who forgot important information during briefing sessions. Spock noted the reaction but chose to ignore it as he elaborated, "Phosphorus plays the same role for Andorians that iron does in human hemoglobin, and copper in Vulcan hemoglobin. The feeding process quickly brought the phosphorus-based hemoglobin in contact with the vampire blood, and a violent thermal reaction resulted that was fatal to the vampire."

Buffy smiled coldly. "That gives me an idea for some new weapons, if I can work with Willow or someone else who didn't squeak by with a 'C' in Chemistry." Willow nodded, and Buffy looked over at Zhuk--who looked rather bewildered--and asked, "Mr. Zhuk--did your captain say anything to you that might suggest what his plans were?"

"He intends to destroy all human life on this world--he was still reviewing plans as to how that would be accomplished." Zhuk sounded shaky, and the others waited patiently as he seemed to gather his composure and continued, "The impression I had was that he was going to make a couple of trips back through the anomaly for supplies and information, then exterminate the human race and secure it for him and those creatures. From what I was able to overhear the last time he was at the house, they had completed one trip back through, and were going to delay the next one until they had completed preliminary steps here to eliminate the human race."

"That is most unfortunate," commented Spock. "I sent a coded subspace signal to Starfleet Command immediately after the destruction of Starbase 48, and an update just before we entered the anomaly. By my calculations, and keeping in mind the time flow difference between the two universes, there should be a large task force waiting on the other side of the anomaly by now, and their orders will be to utterly destroy any ship which contains vampires--as a simple sensor scan will reveal after Starfleet provides the proper calibrating information. If Captain Lewis were to venture out of this universe again, the threat would be removed, except for checks to make sure no more vampires with inappropriate technological information had survived here."

Kirk frowned. "The anomaly will reverse again in ten hours--send a fast impulse probe with our logs up to now, coded eyes-only for the head of the task force. They can send one back to update us, with appropriate safeguards." Spock nodded and pressed a few buttons, and Kirk turned to Mr. Zhuk. "Thank you for your assistance, sir. Dr. McCoy would probably prefer that you rest now, but if you think of anything else that might help us--"

"If there is anything I can do to help I will, Captain--those things murdered my friends and crewmates." Zhuk replied. Kirk nodded grimly, and McCoy walked back over to Zhuk and pushed the grav-chair out.

The occupants of the briefing room conversed quietly for a few minutes until McCoy had returned and sat down. Kirk frowned and commented, "We seem to have a potential catastrophe on our hands--recommendations?"

"As before, finding the Stormwatch will need to be a major priority--whatever they have planned, it will involve their ship." Spock spoke quietly, looking back at Kirk with a calm expression.

"Captain Kirk--they've probably been using this time to see what technology works in this universe and what doesn't: we should probably assume that they know what we do as far as what works. What technology that works on this ship, and which is also in the possession of the Stormwatch, could be used to destroy all human life on Earth?" Willow's expression was visibly upset, but her voice was as calm as Spock's as she asked the question.

Kirk looked at Spock, who quickly replied: "Our warp drive does not function properly here--faster-than-light travel may well be possible, but not using those means. The matter-antimatter reactor still functions normally--including the containment fields, or the ship would have been destroyed upon entry to this universe. Phasers are almost useless, at approximately 1 efficiency. Photon torpedoes are useless due to the disablement of their warp drives and instability in their containment fields. Impulse drive is at 100 efficiency, as are inertial dampeners. Structural integrity fields are at 50 efficiency, which should be adequate for any sublight maneuvering which is necessary. Shields and deflectors are functioning normally. Subspace radio is functional--apparently the problems with the warp drive only apply to physical matter--and sensors are also functioning normally. Tractor beams are at 100 power."

Kirk was about to speak, but Buffy broke in: "What's a tractor beam, Mr. Spock?"

Spock looked to Kirk--who nodded--and replied, "Tractor beams use focused gravitons to exert attractive force on objects, Miss Summers. We use them to move objects in space--up to the size of large spacecraft or small asteroids."

Xander paled. "Did you say you could move asteroids with one of those tractor beams?" Spock nodded, and Xander commented, "Well, if the ray guns and bombs won't work, I know what would work--if that scout ship has tractor beams. I remember reading this book that Will gave me a few birthdays back, and--"

"Xander! You read it!" exclaimed Willow, looking thrilled.

Xander noted the amused attention being directed his way, and flushed as he muttered, "Well, I had a free weekend, the cable was out, and Larry Niven can tell a pretty good story. Anyway, as I was saying--" He stopped for a moment to glare at Willow, then continued, "--the story was about an alien race staging an invasion. As part of the process they deflected a couple of good-sized asteroids and sent them falling into the oceans of Earth--did a lot of environmental damage."

"Your taste in popular fiction is rather morbid, Mr. Harris--but your analysis is sound." Spock looked at Xander, then back at Kirk. "That would be the most efficient plan for destroying human life on this Earth, Captain. Given the physical laws of this place, the Stormwatch lacks the resources to construct antimatter bombs with any measure of safety. The best alternate plan would be to subvert the leaderships of the nations currently in possession of thermonuclear weapons by turning them into vampires and to launch a multilateral thermonuclear war, but this would have a higher risk of discovery, take substantially longer, and would be subject to the counter efforts of individuals such as Miss Summers. Asteroid deflection is something that the inhabitants of this world would be helpless to discover or prevent, and could be repeated at need until the human race was eradicated. I would recommend that we break orbit and begin searching for the Stormwatch in the asteroid belt, concentrating on regions where an asteroid could be easily deflected into a fast orbit that would bring it into a collision with the Earth."

Kirk nodded. "Agreed--though we should safeguard against the other major possibility as well. Mr. Spock--please select two shuttle crews for the purpose of conducting tight scans of the governmental centers and the major nuclear launch facilities on the Earth. If they spot any vampiric life signs in those locations, we'll return and beam them out for questioning and further measures as recommended by Miss Summers. " Spock nodded and left the briefing room, and Kirk turned to Sulu and Chekov. "Prepare to break orbit--we'll be heading to the asteroid belt at full impulse. Sulu, with phasers and photon torpedoes useless, our primary defensive weapons are going to be the tractor beams. Feel free to get relief and review your drills in Auxiliary Control if--"

"I trained on Offensive Tractor Use just last month, Captain--my score was .08 short of the Starfleet record." Kirk raised an eyebrow, and Sulu added defensively, "Commodore Wesley does have some rather good people working for him, sir."

Kirk feigned mild disappointment, then replied, "I suppose it will have to do. Dismissed."

Sulu and Chekov departed, and Kirk announced, "Very well--this meeting is adjourned. Officers to posts--and our guests are welcome to rest in quarters or to return to the bridge: it will take us about forty minutes after breaking orbit to reach the asteroid belt."

The occupants of the room stood up and departed. Kirk noted that Buffy was lingering, and called out, "Is there something I can help you with, Miss Summers?"

Buffy shrugged, and her expression was amused as she commented, "And I thought Giles was tough on me--Sulu nearly sets a record with some obscure weapon we just happen to need now, and you managed to make it sound like he scraped by with a D in Fingerpainting."

Kirk grinned and replied, "My dear Miss Summers, Lieutenant Sulu is the best helmsman in the fleet. If I didn't express a little disappointment at finding a blemish on his resume, he'd be disappointed in me." Buffy grinned back as Kirk added, "I appreciate my people's talents, Miss Summers, and they know it."

Buffy noted the warmth in the hazel eyes, and shook her head. "Do you ever turn off the charm, Captain? Usually when a guy looks at me like that, he's after my body or my blood--or both."

Kirk shivered a bit at the image Buffy had just evoked, and shook his head. "I apologize if I gave the wrong impression, Miss Summers." A memory came back to him unbidden, and he shivered again before adding, "The last time I was involved with a woman your age, she turned out to be a psychotic who was murdering individuals who could identify her father as the butcher who killed four thousand colonists twenty years before. Since that time, I have come to prefer slightly older--and saner--women."

Buffy laughed and commented, "I might not qualify on either count." Kirk smiled, and Buffy added, "Sounds like your love life gets a little complicated sometimes--almost as much as mine does."

Kirk raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid to ask."

Buffy sighed. "My ex-boyfriend is a vampire who was given a soul by gypsies to cause him to suffer intense guilt for his crimes. He helped me fight against the forces of darkness, and we fell in love. Unfortunately, the gypsies were deeply stupid and put an escape clause in the curse--if he knew a moment of true happiness, he would lose his soul. Guess who gave him that moment?"

Kirk saw the expression on her face and guessed how the story ended. "I'm sorry, Buffy." He used her first name intentionally to lighten the moment, and saw her smile slightly in response. He had an impulse to tell her about Edith, but decided not to go there. "Let's rejoin the others, shall we?"

Buffy nodded, and they walked out, with the Slayer not noticing that Kirk was lost in thought. I'm glad I didn't bring up the whole thing with Edith--Buffy's had a hard enough time of it without having to imagine what it would be like to have to let the person she loved die to save the world He dismissed the thought, and they took the turbo lift to the Bridge.

. . .to be continued.

As always, comments are welcomed and desired. 


End file.
